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No doubt in the coming week’s a wave of buzz about Gunnar’s will start to emerge while going into the holiday season. There’s a large marketing push to bridge the market and get buzz going about the style and appeal of the frames and help develop a larger culture around the product. No doubt this is a good thing, while reading it’s clear I do believe Gunnar produces a solid product but there are some things that come with the benefit of using them a year before writing thoughts.

Gunnar thrives on lightweight and sturdy construction, the Rocket frames I purchased last Fall have no actual adjustments available, everything sits firmly with machined slots and pins to prevent inevitable lost screws or broken hinge systems. It’s a relief for a product designed for people on the move and after a year of use, not a sign of wear has hit those parts. The ear comfort band has stayed in tact despite being worn practically everywhere I go, it’s a comfort when normally the paint on other frames will flake and expose the chemical process to the side of the head.

Moving on from construction we hit the lenses, the infamous yellow and blue, does it work? Yes, it really does especially as contrast / brightness exposure from monitors increases, the ability to filter the light and concentrate for 15-20 hour days working on reviews and coding with 3 white screens filling the eyes for a year and come out with less headaches than just standard glasses is something I’ll always remember.

There are some shortcomings to the lenses though, the default non Rx lens has a love affair with smudging and smearing, on normal glasses one can use a microfiber cloth and just buff it away. The stock Gunnar lens attracts and clings to oils and smudges, if using multiple cloths owners can essentially have a cleaning cloth and a drying cloth to help resolve this but they are picky. At the time my model came with a white bag to store them in, it’s fine for stationary use but I’d never pack a travel or convention coverage bag in such a fashion, as such they do tend to attract dust more often than I’d like. In general the upkeep seems to be stronger with these versus a standard pair of glasses or sunglasses with all the coating techniques involved.

The inevitable question is, do these improve game skills (what about my KDR bro)? If they’re prescription (Rx) I’m sure they would for obvious reasons, in standard play the biggest factor I can take away is a reduced fatigue on the eye when I really sit in with a game (anything over 30 minutes) in the day the impact isn’t as high but as the darkness sets in, it’s a massive factor. Contrast headaches are essentially absent and I’m able to lock in for as long of a period as I have available. There’s no magical skill increase or unlocked vision ability, it’s just better use of the eyeballs in a focused state for long periods that really drives it home for my experience.

I would suggest going through Gunnar if planning to invest in a prescription pair, I attempted to navigate my area for places to get lenses made and was quoted up to $580 for lenses and a basic Gunnar frame. Gunnar has an in-house system that essentially crushes the competition in pricing and multiple quality tiers available. I have yet to make the upgrade but when I have a feeling my experience will continue to increase. With only a slight correction in my vision I’m able to still get a fairly sharp experience with the stock Gunnar model that has worked so far.

The final thoughts here are simple, the metal frames are a tool free design, they incorporate lightness and functionality over all else, the lenses take off the eye fatigue that leads to headaches induced by contrast. They work even when pulling insane hours to write code, articles, edit videos and do other tasks, as long as one is pushing forward the lenses will continue to do their job and guide the eyes to a safe landing. If it’s a case of being on the fence and looking at a stock pair but need a slight prescription, I suggest taking the plunge from the start so to avoid regrets while dealing with subtle blur issues later.

The Rocket frames took no physical damage during this year of use, the ear band stayed in tact without degrading and the only shortcoming was the front lens has taken a few scratches over the year of wear. As far as product wear goes, these have probably taken less damage than standard glasses of any level would, simply solid no matter where I wore them.

I’d like to thank Woot for having these during one of their sales, well worth the purchase and I would easily pick these up at a regular price rate in the future (Rx of course) when the time comes to replace my Rocket’s as they take up scratches here and there.